11th – 15th October 2020: These are the dates of the 2020 edition of the Modena Cento Ore that has been given a special format to mark its 20th anniversary.
The Canossa Events team has prepared a truly unique edition to celebrate this important anniversary in style with five days of driving on a beautiful itinerary across central Italy, including Rome, Florence, Perugia and Modena. The crews will race against one another on 3 famous racetracks: Magione, Mugello and Imola, along with 11 special uphill stages on roads closed to normal traffic.
The planned route crosses Italy from south to north and includes a non-stop schedule of spectacular stages, taking a very scenic route through some charming beauty spots: rolling hills, Apennine mountain passes, art cities, lakes, small medieval villages, and exhilarating mountain roads…
The participants are coming from all corners of the world and they will not be disappointed by the magical atmosphere in the Eternal City, the charm of Orvieto, Rieti, Cortona, Arezzo, Florence, and Modena, and the memories of the many spectacular sights they will take home with them like postcards of an unforgettable journey into the heart of Italy. After four intense days of competition, the chequered flag will be waiting in Piazza Roma in Modena on Thursday 15th October from 4.30 p.m.
2020
2020 has proven to be a very difficult year and has forced some complex decisions on us all. Many events around the world have been cancelled or postponed until next year. Covid-19 has created many organisational headaches and many crews reluctantly have had to miss out because of the new restrictions. Nevertheless, Canossa Events decided to carry on and welcome its friends and fans in its usual style. The message we want to send out loud and clear is: it’s time to get back on track, to get up and running again, to get back to our lives and our passions, like the passion for our vintage cars that have been waiting patiently in garages for months on end, in the hope of seeing sunlight again before winter.
So, the Modena Cento Ore is ready to go, obviously with the utmost attention to the safety of the participants, who we look forward to welcoming with our usual smile, even if it will be hidden behind a face mask, as required by the health and safety protocol.
The programme
The itinerary will drive up through Italy and visit four regions: Lazio, Umbria, Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna in a non-stop schedule of spectacular stages along a very scenic route.
The cars will arrive in Rome on October 11th and will remain on display from the morning along Viale delle Magnolie at Villa Borghese while the technical and administrative checks are being completed. At 5.30 p.m. in the afternoon they will form a convoy and drive through the oldest parts of the Eternal City with a police escort, offering passers-by the chance of some fabulous photo ops.
On October 12th they will parade through the centre of Monterotondo and Rieti, ahead of the two special stages taking the same route as the famous Rieti-Terminillo Hillclimb, one of the longest in Europe and included of the European Championship.
The crews will stop for lunch in the hills above Rieti before taking the road to Assisi, the spiritual heart of Italy, and finishing the day’s driving in lovely Piazza IV November in Perugia.
The cars will start the second leg on Tuesday 13th at 7.30 a.m., passing first through Todi and then the centre of Orvieto where a time check awaits them in the shadow of the city’s majestic cathedral.
The competition will really fire up with the third special stage, followed by the first challenge on the racetrack starting from 11 a.m. at Magione, the Autodromo dell’Umbria. In the afternoon, two more exciting special stages await the crews ahead of a time check at Cortona and a break in Arezzo when the cars will go on public display in Piazza Grande. According to tradition, the arrival of the leg will be in Piazza Ognissanti in Florence, the cradle of the Italian Renaissance.
Wednesday 14th promises to be a really intense day: it will get off to an exhilarating start at 9 a.m. with the race at the Mugello Circuit, the cars lining up at the start ready to make the hearts of all fans skip a beat. 4 special stages will then put the crews to the test in the area of the Giogo pass, ahead of the parade through the centre of Scarperia e San Piero watched over by the majestic Palazzo dei Vicari before it is finally time to relax at the exclusive gala evening in the centre of Florence.
Thursday 15th is the last day of driving and the crews will have the chance to compete in two special stages ahead of the drive through Palazzuolo sul Senio and then trying out the tarmac at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola. And then they’ll be off again, heading towards the heart of the Motor Valley and the chequered flag in piazza Roma in Modena, overlooked by the city’s famous Military Academy.
The awards ceremony will take place in the evening.
Some of those coming to compete in the 2020 edition
Some exceptional teams have registered for the 2020 Modena Cento Ore. The list of competitors includes some names who have made motor racing history. They include Emanuele Pirro, 5 times winner of the 24 hours of Le Mans, 2 times winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring, and several times World Touring Car Champion. He will be driving a 1990 Lamborghini Countach 25° Anniversario, a completely original car that has always been owned by MUDETEC and only leaves the museum for special occasions. Team Beecroft-Beecroft from England are taking part in an extremely rare Aston Martin DB4 GT, as only 75 cars were ever built. Lining up at the start there will also be a Ferrari 250 SWB SEFAC and three Alfa Romeo 1750 GTAM from Switzerland. The other cars include a Jaguar C-Type from Sweden and a Lancia Stratos Gr. 4 from England. Team Healy-Healy are a couple from the United States who will be driving a 1973 Porsche 911 3.0 RS, a vehicle that raced in Group 3 GT in Germany in its day.
The Green Event of motoring
In a world that is becoming increasingly aware of environmental issues, Modena Cento Ore is particularly proud that it is still the only zero emission event of its kind for the fifth year running, as the organisers decided to implement a CarbonZero protocol and completely offset the residual emissions of CO2 by planting scores of new trees in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines.
